‘What’s happier than happy, Happy Shappy of course!’- A one stop shop for best vendors, best prices and happiest weddings!

Any Indian will tell you that weddings are an enormous part of our lives. So much so, that on average, Indians spend a staggering third of their life’s savings on a wedding. So if we’re spending all this money, why are weddings still so bogged down with stress and headache? While attending a lot of weddings, Nitin and Sana Sood, Founders, Happy Shappy saw that each of them had one thing in common – whoever was organizing them, whether the couple or their parents, people were running from pillar to post like headless chickens and not being able to enjoy the most important days of their life. This is where they realized that there had to be a better way.

With Nitin’s IT background, the duo decided to create a technological solution to solve the problem and that’s how Happy Shappy came into existence. It’s in the past 3 months that Happy Shappy has really grown to where they are today. Also, in the first few months of 2017, they have plans of launching more and more tech-based tools to make wedding planning easier AND more fun with budget calculators, guest list managers, interactive features; there is a lot more that you’ll need to wait and watch for. In an exclusive conversation with Business2Business, the Founders share more on their journey, vendors, budgets and a lot more!

The idea: “Happy Shappy was founded with a vision to re-imagine how you celebrate your most special days! We want the weddings to be exciting and joyful and not stressful and hectic. So if you want to sit back, grab a snack, and plan your functions from the comfort of your couch, Happy Shappy is the solution”

More about the platform: In discussions on what does Happy Shappy do, the Founders share, “Happy Shappy is a marketplace for a wide variety of wedding vendors – wedding venues, wedding caterers, wedding photographers, DJs, bridal makeup artists, wedding caterers, wedding invitation card makers – and many, many more. Any service you could possibly need for your wedding – shortlist your favorites, browse photos and book them on Happy Shappy.” They add, “We love your enthusiasm! There are many more super cool features will be launching soon to revolutionize the way your wedding is planned. From your budgeting needs, to creating the guest lists and free wedding websites – it’s all coming. Bear with us over the next few weeks as we roll out all of these.”

Vendors: The Founders share, “Our vendors are the best in the business across Delhi-NCR (and soon, across India). Each of them has a page dedicated to their venue or service. So just shortlist them, check out their photos, read reviews – and book!”

Budget: When asked what should be one's budget to have a wedding organised by Happy Shappy the Founders shares, “Your budget really doesn’t matter. You could be throwing the biggest, fattest Indian wedding out there or you could be opting for a small, intimate affair with close friends and family. Every wedding, regardless of how much you want to spend, deserves to be a joyful, happy shappy celebration. Our team works to find you the best venues and vendors in whatever your budget is – and will in fact save you money. Our services are totally free for our clients – we don’t charge a paisa to the customer. And not only are we free, we’re better than free – we actually save you money!”

Challenges: Sharing about the approval of the services, The Founders share, “There’s no approval process. If you’re having a celebration – whether that’s a wedding, an anniversary, a Lohri party, a birthday, a corporate event – anything at all, we’d be happy to help. Pardon me, happy shappy to help! Reach out to us and let us know what services you need for the event and we’ll get started right away.” Sharing the challenges faced as a startup, the Founders share, “As a startup, we have lots of challenges and as a start up that’s just a few months old, nothing has become common as yet! But yes, operating in an entirely new industry and creating innovations that have never been done before certainly present new situations for us every day. We’re learning a lot in the process. No two days are ever the same, and we love it!

What costs the most: When asked about what is the costliest components of an average wedding, the Founders share, “Typically, it’s the venue, but no wedding is ever typical! So it could very well be a five star hotel or a palace, but it may also be a couture designer lehenga. Looking across the board though, on average, people tend to spend the most on the perfect venue and food for their celebrations.” They add, “Our clients who book through Happy Shappy tend to have a cost savings of about 20-30% on a venue. We negotiate bulk rates for our clients and are able to pass on the savings to couples getting married freeing them up to use that money elsewhere. The savings we get the client are much more than they’d ever get through a favor they call in. Reason being, we are the wholesalers – we negotiate multiple weddings a year with a vendor, getting us the best prices.”

Some money saving tips: “The best tip would be to book on Happy Shappy! We’ve got all the best vendors, and at every price point. So immediately, there’s an aspect of convenience and saving money. Plus, booking through our online platform means less stress, less running all over the city trying to meet dozens of vendors. The Happy Shappy team narrows down your vendors to a manageable number based on your dates, your budget, and your tastes – so if you want to save money AND have peace of mind, reach out to us! We like to say, we save you 20% on costs and 80% on stress,” share the Founders.

The team and the roles: Nitin works in every part of the company from sales to tech to vendor management while Sana focuses on the creative aspects which include writing content, managing social media, PR, etc. Along with it, they have a wonderful team of dynamic, talented people who are full of passion and excitement for Happy Shappy.

Last Thoughts: The Founders share, “If you need ideas for decorating your venue or perhaps how to make the groom feel a tad more included on his wedding day or about wedding fashion trends from all over India that go beyond red lehengas; we have an awesome blog to inspire you, entertain you, and keep you plenty busy. You’re very welcome.”